I ran into this sort of thing in Montana where a onebrewery's dollar refillable mug was selling on E-bay for some ungodly sum.

Be careful about your initial promotions young enterprenuer and never EVER offer a lifetime of service at decade's old pricing. There's a magazine that doesn't even SPEAK to me anymore because I got them in this situation.

I wonder if you could have a co-op of "nanobrewers" in the US? I'd think you could still brew independently but deal with certifications, renting space, distribution, sales, and other non-fun aspects as a collective.

Meh, so some of the better Ontario breweries do nano-level stuff in their one-offs. My local carries a lot of Durham County and Great Lakes. Before you get persnickety the Great Lakes one-offs are fantastic as opposed their their incredibly pedestrian regular brews.

Anyway, I'm not surprised that their one T.O. location mentioned was a bar, Get Well, that I'd never heard of before this but that was near Dundas And Ossington like Bellwoods brewery and Indie Beer House.

I wonder if you could have a co-op of "nanobrewers" in the US? I'd think you could still brew independently but deal with certifications, renting space, distribution, sales, and other non-fun aspects as a collective.

That's a great idea. It can slim down the start up cost but it won't touch the taxes. You don't pay taxes on sales of beer, you pay taxes when you transfer a barrel off site.

It's even worse for distilleries. My dream is to start a craft bourbon distillery. You pay taxes on distilled liquor before you've distilled it.

A shame that this article takes two distinct brewing types, and lumps them together. A nano-brewery and a brew pub are not the same thing at all.

There are brew pubs in Ontario, but no nano-breweries, due to the cost of doing business with the AGO.

I don't want to run a pub, I just want to brew. I can brew 25 gallons at a go right now, and can easily do that twice a day. What I can't do is afford to pay the AGO tens of thousands of dollars for the privilege.

The nanobrewing thing is an interesting development, at least in Toronto. In order for it to continue to work, the people doing it basically have to accept that they're never going to make any real money at it. The level of dedication that you need in order to keep up that level of effort without the quality going downhill quickly is going to be problematic. I know Brad from Get Well a little and he seems like he'll be fine, but at some point a talented brewer is going to want a larger system.

One of the things that really gets me since I've moved to Australia is that despite the reputation the country has of being filled with total piss heads, it's incredibly difficult and expensive to get the proper licenses needed to serve or sell beer.

The stupid thing is that I actually have the skill and the finances to bankroll it, but I just don't have the bloody patience to jump through all the hoops necessary to commercially sell my brew. I'm actually fairly certain that part of the reason why everything is set up the way it is the same reason why many other industries have onerous licensing requirements - to keep new people out of markets and to protect established industries.

Anyway, for the time being I am exploring just piggybacking on a established premises existing license - however, the excise tax part of the equation is still a pain in the ass due to the requirements that need to be met for ensure that the feds get their proper cut. They literally want you to get them hard, lube them up, bend over, and guide them to the ass farking they want to give you over taxes.

I'm thinking the brewing gold rush is long over, so if you're thinking of quitting your job to open your own brewery because it's your "life's passion", your business plan had better include "winning the lottery".

It would be nice if they changed the law in the US so semi-pro breweries could operate. Would be nice if I could sell kegs to the local bars or sell 6-packs to anyone who wants them. Certainly we'd see more interesting things at the bar than we do now. People sometimes ask me if I want to take my homebrew operation pro and the answer is oh, hell no. I'd probably rethink that if I could do it on a smaller scale.

WhippingBoy:I'm thinking the brewing gold rush is long over, so if you're thinking of quitting your job to open your own brewery because it's your "life's passion", your business plan had better include "winning the lottery".

I would say the gold rush is very much still ongoing. There are five more small breweries opening up in my town alone.Now, weather or not the market can sustain all that growth is yet to be seen. They could very well be diluting thier own market.I don't think its more of a better have lots of money thing. With enough capital, any one can start brewing. But you better know what you are doing, be able to put out a quality product. If you are in it to capatalise on a growing market and get rich? Don't even bother.

There are a couple nano-breweries in Chicago. It's all about the proper marketing of the product to the right crowd. Keep the beers good, keep them limited and people will usually pay more than usual for the product. Kickstarter has been responsible for the funding of more than one...

WhippingBoy:I'm thinking the brewing gold rush is long over, so if you're thinking of quitting your job to open your own brewery because it's your "life's passion", your business plan had better include "winning the lottery".

Maybe, maybe not - while the market is tight there is always new areas for smart breweries. Dogfish Head was founded partly by buying up the equipment of failed microbreweries and making a better product.

Then again, the hipster foodie trend is now micro-distilling, which is more expensive and a bit more difficult to break into. Most beers take a month or two to produce, while whisky/bourbon, etc. can take years.

I wonder if you could have a co-op of "nanobrewers" in the US? I'd think you could still brew independently but deal with certifications, renting space, distribution, sales, and other non-fun aspects as a collective.

I don't know about other states, but in California you would do this as an "alternating proprietorship." Each brewer maintains their own Type 23 ABC license and whenever they use the brewhouse the ownership of the location is turned over to them for the day.